Biden’s Own Aides Feared His Sanctions Wouldn’t Stop Putin
With no alternatives, a ‘tired’ foreign policy tool now faces a high-stakes test on the Russia-Ukraine border
Biden’s aides say they’re holding heavier punishments in store, pending Putin’s next moves — but behind the scenes, there’s persistent skepticism about the strategy.
Photographer: Oliver Contreras/Sipa/Bloomberg
U.S. officials spent hundreds of hours over five months debating, crafting and then touting a punishing array of economic sanctions to try to scare Russian President Vladimir Putin off invading Ukraine, but almost from the beginning, many shared the same view: This strategy probably won’t work.
Those concerns became reality Thursday when Russian forces attacked targets across Ukraine and Putin vowed to “demilitarize” the country and replace its leaders. Ukraine’s government called the Russian offensive a “full-scale invasion.” In a statement late on Wednesday night, U.S. President Joe Biden said that he would imminently announce “further consequences” for Russia, in addition to sanctions unveiled earlier in the week.